Flexible door



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A. S. SPAULDING. FLEXIBLE DOOR.

No. 550,653. PatentedDec. 3, 1895.

AN DREW B GRAHAM. PHOTO-UTNWASHINGTDN. 0 C,

f (.No Model.) f Y v2 Sheets-Sheet 2. 1 S. SPAULDING'.

FLEXIBLE DOOR.

Patented 1190.3, v1895.- H 11.7%? H I Q3.- I

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, ANDREW B.GRAMAM.PHOTO-Lm1D WASHINGTONDC.

2o casing on line X' X, Fig. 2.

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ALGENON S. SPAULDING, OF VOROESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE FLEXIBLE DOOR AND SHUTTER COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

FLEXIBLE DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 550,653, dated December 3, 1895.

Application fiieaNove/mberz, 18-91. serai No. 410,607. momen.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALGENON S. SPAULD- ING, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVorce'ster, in the county of lVorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flexible Doors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompany ing drawings, forming a part of this specifica- Io tion, and in which- Figure l represents atop view of a flexible door embodying my invention, the casing being shown in sectional view on line X X, Fig. 3, in order to disclose the pocket into which the door is moved when opened, the door itself being represented as closed. Fig. 2 represents the saine view as shown in Fig. 1', but with the door opened or moved into the pocket. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the door Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the door-casing online Y Y, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a top view of three of the links forming the chain attached to the upper and lower ends of the leaves, which 2 5 constitute the body of the flexible door and which are represented in Fig. 5 by broken lines. Fig. Gis a transverse sectional View of three of the leaves forming the body of the flexible door and illustrating their construction and the mode of hinging them together. Fig. 7 represents the upper screw-threaded spindle and its inclosing screw threaded sleeve shown in sectional view by which the upper edge of the flexible door is pivoted to 3 5 the casing. Fig. 8 represents a bottom view of the part shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9'is a side view of the adjustable bracket to which the lower edge of the door is pivoted. Fig. l() is a view of the same shown in section on line Fig. ll is a top view of the grooved plate upon which the bracket rests. Fig. 12 represents the casing of a window shown in sectional view to disclose the pockets at the sides of the window-opening and showing a pair of flexible shutters shown in top view, one of which is extended into the window-opening and the other is contained within the pocket, and representing the application of my invention to a flexible windowshutter; and Fig. 13 represents in top or end view a portion of the body of the iiexible shutter and showing a modified form and construction from that illustrated in Figs. 5 and G.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the different figures.

My invention has for its object to provide means by which a flexible door or shutter employed in closing the openings of doors or windows, or for similar purposes, can be suitably disposed within a pocket considerably less in depth than the width of the door or window opening and sufficiently narrow to be inelosed within ordinary house partitions, and also to provide means for the adjustment of the door when in place; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter described, and specifically set forth in the annexed claims.

Referring to Figs. l to 4f, AA denote a box or casing inclosing a pocket A', into which the flexible door is pushed in the operation of opening.

A2 denotes a door-jamb, provided with an opening A3, through which the door is moved in and out of the pocket A. 75

A4 denotes a groove in the threshold A5 along which the door is guided as it is drawn out of the pocket A to close the door-opening, or, if preferred, the door can be guided by its upper edge, leaving the threshold smooth.

The dooras represented in Figs. l to 4, consists of a series of leaves B, hinged together at their edges and united to a slightly-heavier strip B, forming the door stile, which is brought against a doorjamb B', upon the opposite side of the door-opening, when the door is closed. The upper and lower ends of the leaves forming the body of the door are covered with metal plates B2, hinged together 9o eoncentrieally with the pintles uniting the edges of the leaves and having their edges turned over against the sides of the leaves, as at B3, Figs. 3 and 4, the links B2 forming chains extending across the door at its upper and lower edges. The form of the leaves B4,

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as shown in Fig. 3, and having a series of short barrels interlocking each other on the opposing edges of adjacent leaves, which are united by pintles BG, held eoncentrically in the barrels.

The flexible body of the door, formed in the manner described, is united at one edge to the stile B, and the opposite edge of the door is hinged to the door-casing by means of the screws B6 and BT. The screw B1m is held in a screw-threaded sleeve B8, inserted in the header A2, or top of the box inclosing the pocket, and is provided with a flange B9, resting against the under surface of the header A, to which it is secured by screws passing through the holes B10. The screw B1"n is provided with a square section B11 to receive a wrench and a cylindrical point B12, entering the end of one of the links B2. The last leaf B4 of the door is cut away at its lower end to receive an angle-iron C, attached to the leaf B1 and having a hole to receive the cylindrical point C/ of the screw B7. The screw B7 is held in the upper arm C2 of the U -shaped bracket G2 and is provided with a square section C4 to receive a wrench. The lower arm C5 of the U-shaped bracket C3 rests upon a plate D, attached to the floor by screws passing through the holes D. The arm G5 is provided upon its under side with a rib CG, which rests in a groove D2 in the upper surface of the plate D, and the bracket C2 is adjustably attached to the 'plate D by a nut D3 and a bolt D1, passing through a slot D5 in the plate D and held from turning within the slot by the flattened sides DG of the bolt. This construction allows the bracket C3 to be moved along the plate D, so as to vary the alignment of the cylindrical point C with the cylindrical point 312, in order to change the angle formed by the leaf B1 with the lioor and raise or lower the stile B. For example, if the bracket C3, as shown in Fig. 3, be moved toward the left, carrying the lower end of the leaf B1, the whole body of the door will be tipped, raising the stile B farther from the threshold, for the reason that the several leaves, hinged together in the manner described, will forin an unyielding body, except as the several leaves are hinged together and capable of turning upon their pintles, and if the bracket C3 be moved to the right, Fig. 3, the opposite result will follow and the stile B will be lowered.

It will be seen that the entire body of the door between the stile B and the leaf B1 is hung upon the screws B6 and BT with the lower edge of the door entirely free from contact with the floor A7 of the pocket A', and also of the bottom of the groove A1, thereby allowing the door to be moved in and out of its pocket entirely free from frictional contact with the ioor, and the adjustment, by moving the bracket C3, as already described, allows the body of the door to be so inclined as to bring its lower edge parallel with the floor, over which it is to be moved, and in case any variation should occur in the inclination of the floor, caused by the settling of the building or otherwise, the door-jamb A2 can easily be removed and the necessary adjustment made by moving the bracket C3 along its supporting-plate D and securing1 it in position by the nut D3 and bolt D1.

At one side of the pocket A', l place the short strips E E, preferably at the top and bottom of the pocket, the inner faces of the strips being flush with the opening A3 in the door-jamb A2 and serving as guides, along which the leaves are moved as the door is opened. l

By referring to Fig. 6 it will be seen that each leaf is provided with an abutting shoulder F F, which are brought into contact as the door is extended, and the leaves are brought into the same plane, thereby preventing the flexure of the door around its pintles, except in one direction.

Upon the side of the pocket opposite the guide-strips E E, l place the short strips G G, against which the leaf B1a strikes as the door is pushed into its pocket, the strips G G serv- `ing as stops to hold the leaf B42L in a position parallel with the face of the guide-strips E E, and the successive movement of the door will carry succeeding leaves into line with the leaf B12 as it rests against the stop G, so that when the door is opened the several leaves composing it will assume the position shown in Fig. 2, a portion of the leaves extending from the stile B along one side of the pocket and the remaining portion of the leaves extending from the leaf B4u in a parallel line and occupying the opposite side of the pocket, the door being doubled upon itself and requiring a pocket whose depth will not greatly exceed one-half the width of the door-opening. The leaves extending from the leaf B1a along one side of the pocket form a straight line parallel with the leaves resting against the guide-strips E, for the reason that they are held by the contact of the shoulders F F. Likewise the leaves after leaving the guidestrips E are held in a straight line by the shoulders F F, the two lines of leaves lying parallel within the pocket and bein g crowded apart by the connecting-links, as illustrated by the links l 2 3, Fig. 2.

The leaf B1 can be raised or lowered by raising and lowering the screws BGn and B7, the square sections B11 and G4 being provided to receive a wrench. The leaf B1 is therefore capable of avertical adjustment as well as a lateral adjustment at its lower end, and as the remaining leaves are hinged together and to the leaf B1 the adjustments already described will vary the position of the entire door. I

By the above-described method of constructing and hanging the door it will be obvious that one-half the door can be made solid instead of leaves hinged together, for example, leaves 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, as they are received into the pocket in the same plane with the IOO IlO

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stile B, might forma single solid panel rigidly attached to the stile or that portion of the door represented bythe stile B, or leaves 4 to S might be framed in the saine manner as an ordinary panel-door and having the leaf 3 hinged to its edge. If the pocket were as deep as the width of the door-opening, that portion of the door used in closing the opening might be an ordinary panel-door with a series of leaves hinged to one edge and to the screws B6 and B7.

The lower end of the leaf BAm is cut away to receive an angle-iron C to allow the adjustable bracket C3 and plate D to rest upon the floor; but in case the bracket C3 and plate D were sunk in a recess below the surface of the floor the cylindrical point C', as well as the cylindrical point B12 of the upper screw, might enter the ends of t-he leaf Bm, which in that case would preferably be made wider and heavier than the remaining leaves.

The metal links B2 are formed with abutting edges H I-I, so they will be brought in contact, as the leaves to which they are attached are brought into the same plane and perform the same function as the shoulders F F. Instead of a series of leaves hinged together, as already described, the flexible portion of the door may consist of a sheet of canvas, leather, or other flexible material, as represented at I, Fig. 13, and having attached thereto strips (shown in end view at I, Fig. 13) and provided with abutting edges I2, which are brought together as the strips I' are extended and brought in the same plane, and preventing the iieXible curtain so formed from being bent when in its extended position, except in one direction.

Fig. 12 represents a pair of shutters applied to awindow-opening and consisting of the flexible sections J, constructed of a flexible body covered by strips I', as above described and shown in end view, Fig. 13, hinged at one edge J to the casing and attached at the opposite edge J 2 to a solid panel J 3. The shutters are drawn from opposite sides of the window-opening through openings J 4, meeting in the center, and are hinged to the casin01 at J in osition to allow a free space J 5 to receive the sash-weights.

I do not coniine myself to the specific forms of construction as herein shown and described as constituting the flexible section of the door or shutter, as any known form of construction may be employed by which the inner edge of the flexible section can be hinged to the casing of the pocket or other fixed support at or near the opening through which the door enters the pocket.

In the construction shown in Figs. l to 4 the cylindrical points B12 and C serve as pintles upon which the inner edge of the door is hinged, and the screw B7 is provided with a shoulder K upon which the angle-iron C rests, allowing the leaf Bim to be raised by raising the screw B7, thereby lifting the entire body of the door. y

I am aware that a shutter or curtain composed of a series of strips flexibly united at their edges has been looped or doubled upon itself into a pocket or housing placed in a vertical plane, so the looped section of the curtain would fall by its own weight into the pocket and hang suspended therein, and I do not claim such.

The object of my invention is to securethe proper looping or doubling of the flexible door when it is moved in a horizontal plane into a pocket arranged at one side of the door or window opening. Then the iieXible curtain is allowed to fall into a pocket upon a lower plane and vertically, the weight of the curtain will serve to keep the looped section extended and the hinged strips in suitable position to be again drawn out of the pocket, for the strips are carried down in the pocket by their own weight, causing the looped section of the curtain to hang in two parallel lines, and when the strips or leaves of the curtain are drawn out of the pocket they are raised against the force of gravity. If the door is to be moved horizontally into the pocket, it becomes necessary to control the movement of the hinged strips as they are moved along the pocket, and I accomplish this by constructing the curtain with abuttin g shoulders so it is capable of being bent in one direction only, and arranging the two stop pieces within the pocket as described, one of the stopepieces G being arranged relatively to the pintles B6, on which the edge of the door is hinged, so that it will stop the strips or leaves in a position parallel with the line of motion of the door, and placing the edge of the second stop E parallel with that of the stop G and at a distance therefrom slightly greater than the width of oneof the strips or leaves of which the door is composed, so that the stop G will hold the strip or leaf B4 from swinging on the pintles B6 and hold it parallel with the movement of the door, and the leaves as they are pushed into the pocket will be held in a straight line against the stop E in the manner described.

Vhat I claimV as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a pocket arranged at one side of the door opening, of a iiexible door composed of leaves hinged together at their edges and provided with abutting shoulders, whereby the door is held from bending, except in one direction, a fixed support to which one edge of said door is hinged within said pocket and a pair of stops arranged at opposite sides of the pocket, whereby the leaves of the door are looped in parallel lines within said pocket, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a pocket arranged atthe side of the door, or window opening, a flexible door composed of a series of leaves hinged together at their edges and provided with abutting shoulders which are brought into contact when the door is extended, a fixed support carrying pintles to which one edge of the door is hinged, a stop G by which IOO IIO

Dated at Wcrcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts,y this 1o 29th day of October7 1891.

ALGENON S. SPAULDING.

Vitnesses:

RUFUs B. FOWLER, EMMA KEsTER. 

